Finding Ground: Reflections on Trauma-Informed Peacebuilding in Israel/Palestine      

Editor’s note: In wartime, those working for peace are often viewed with suspicion and even hate by those who see peacebuilders as a barrier in their quest to defeat their adversary. Such pressure can make the life of a peacebuilder, working to rehumanize and find non-violent solutions with the other side, difficult. While such difficulties are not at the same scale and depth of human suffering as those directly impacted by the violence, they are nonetheless worth acknowledging and understanding as another aspect of conflict. This is especially because the work of peacebuilders is more important than ever during periods of mass violence and human suffering, as currently witnessed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The following story is by one member of the Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP) – a network of organizations working for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. 

In times of conflict, it’s easy to retreat into judgment and cynicism as a way of processing trauma, sadness, and grief. Yet what we truly need is guidance, support, connectivity, and a safe space to share our deep wounds. This truth became vivid during a transformative two-day training session at Neve Shalom from September 22 to 23, 2024. The session was conducted under the expert guidance of Eva Dalek, and provided by the Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP) to its members. ALLMEP is a network of over 160 member organizations, among which is the group I work for, Jerusalem Culture Unlimited. Neve Shalom, which means ‘Oasis of Peace,’ is a village in Israel in which Arabs and Jews live together and work for peace.

This session revealed how much trauma our bodies carry—pain we often don’t even recognize we are holding. While it seems impossible to rationalize the extent of death and of destruction since October 7, all of us have no choice but to live through an ongoing war, and simultaneously try to function personally and professionally. This essential training, “Trauma in Peacebuilding,” included various workshops and emotional processing, and offered a path forward for participants to open themselves to healing.

What made this experience unique was a sense of power that came from shared vulnerability and experience. As an arts professional, mother, and wife, I came seeking to reconnect with my authentic self during a year of war that brought fear, judgment, anger, and criticism, making such connections seem impossible. Surrounded by new faces of people I had never met before, the emotional resonance of our shared experiences broke through isolation and enabled us to learn from one another. While the feeling of isolation from this past year still persists, these sessions provided grounding and understanding to deal with fear and sadness.

The brilliance of the program lay in its alternating focus between physical and mental exercises, teaching us to tap into our senses and build awareness of our surroundings and ourselves. Through carefully structured workshops, we discovered the vital connection between bodily and emotional healing. Group dynamics proved especially powerful—a crucial lesson for those of us who work with people professionally. One striking demonstration showed how attempting to bear another’s full weight leads to collapse, highlighting the importance of sustainable mutual support. In my work with JCU, we rely heavily on trust, openness, and support between Israeli and Palestinian colleagues.

Unlike traditional seminars filled with note-taking and presentations, this training engaged us holistically. A simple morning exercise of being barefoot outdoors immediately grounded us in physical presence. Even nature participated—rain fell during our movement exercises, adding an element of cleansing synchronicity. Throughout the two days, we learned how brief physical practices—tapping, jumping, stretching—can anchor our mental well-being. These practices should be implemented religiously in these stressful times.

One of the most transformative aspects of the training was learning about the power of holding space—truly listening when someone else speaks. This meant being present without judgment, without preparing responses, but simply being there with our body and heart. Through a rotating exercise where we took turns as speaker, listener, and observer, I discovered what it means to listen with the heart—not intellectualizing the speaker’s words, but finding compassion and maintaining an open heart.

Dalek emphasized that in our daily interactions, we often fail to listen deeply enough, forgetting that the person before us carries a lifetime of memories, pain, and traumas unknown to us, just as they don’t know ours. This insight resonates particularly in my work with JCU and the artists I engage with in Jerusalem, all of whom come from diverse backgrounds and life experiences, with narratives that deserve space and recognition.

The training also revealed the inseparable connection between our personal and professional lives, especially during wartime. Our personal traumas inevitably affect our professional work, potentially causing friction and separation. However, understanding this connection helps us navigate both spheres more consciously. This awareness of how to listen through the heart extends to ourselves, teaching us not only to suspend judgment of others but also to be gentler with ourselves, recognizing there’s ample space to contain both our narrative and those of others.While these lessons might seem obvious, their practical application reveals how much we lack these skills in our daily lives, and what a profound difference they can make. As we continue our work in times of war and conflict, these lessons remain vital: the need for self-care, the power of shared experience, and the inseparable connection between physical and emotional healing. In a world that often pulls us apart, such training reminds us of our fundamental interconnectedness and the possibility of healing ourselves and the world together.

Shlomit Dror

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As the director of Jerusalem Culture Unlimited (JCU), Shlomit designs and organizes JCU’s programming across all sectors, acts as a lead strategist for promoting artists within JCU’s network, plans and directs public programming and manages relationships with stakeholders and organization partners.

Shlomit is also a curator who relocated to Jerusalem from New York. In Jerusalem she held the position of the Assistant to the Chief Curator of Fine Arts at the Israel Museum, and in addition curating shows independently at Barbur Gallery and Artists Cube in Jerusalem, among other cultural institutions. Prior to this,  while living in the United States, Dror has organized exhibitions in New York Metropolitan area including, “In Her Eyes: Women Behind and in Front of the Camera,” (Newark Museum, 2012), “F_ll in the Bl_nk” (NARS Foundation, 2013), “Ready or Not: 2014 New Jersey Arts Annual” (Newark Museum, 2014), “Seeing through Abstraction” (Residency Unlimited, 2015), “Story of a Story” (Smack Mellon, 2015), “Almost Home: Between Staying and Leaving a Phantom Land” (Dorsky Gallery, 2017), group exhibition at Paul Robeson Galleries at Rutgers University (2017),  among others.

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